Targeted at the workforce, gamification has been, lightly and attractively, helping to improve operating performance, and creating opportunities in the logistics, port and maritime industries. Focusing on increasing workforce commitment and performance, the competitions have been engaging and motivating teams, which in turn supports the development of new behaviours and skills at work, and has the potential to significantly increase organisational safety and productivity.
Gamification is not just about entertainment. Rather, it leverages its concepts to support a high-performance culture within companies. In a playful way, team games engage all employees and ensure a safer working routine.
In Brazil, an iconic “case” is that of Wilson Sons, a leader in port and maritime logistics. In 2022, its Towage business unit launched the “Excellence on Board” game program. Initially aimed at crewmembers, this successful initiative was extended last October to the administrative team of the Towage division, to the shore staff, and to operations analysts
Implemented in 25 branches of the Towage division, located along the Brazilian coast, the program involves about 650 crew.
They are divided into 150 teams working out of the North of Brazil, in Santarém, in the state of Pará, to the South, at the Port of Rio Grande, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Gamification helped to equal team performance levels in an operation of large geographic coverage.
Through an application developed by the startup Gamefic in collaboration with experts from Wilson Sons, workers participated in team competitions for biannual prizes. There are performance indicators for different professionals, from the captains of the company's 80 tugboats to chief engineers and seamen
"Gamification Is Not Just About Entertainment. Rather, It Leverages Its Concepts To Support A High-Performance Culture Within Companies"
On the app, which can be either accessed on a mobile or on a desktop, the participants monitor 14 performance score indicators during monthly competitions known as “races”. These indicators cover four areas: HSE (Occupational Health, Workplace Safety and Environment), Maintenance, Operation and Human Resources (HR).
The company also included, in the “Excellence on Board” program, educational elements to help further improve organisational processes and routines. These include quizzes on workplace concepts and actions.
The participants can keep track of their own team's performance in real time and view the scores of groups from other vessels.
According to the scores of each crew, a captain or a crewman can, for example, assess opportunities for improvement in their teams throughout the competitions
In the races, the teams get monthly points, and every six months, prizes are awarded to the workers of the top six teams (TOP6). The TOP1 team branch, which scored the most over 12 months, also wins a prize. In this case, the workers who supported the tugboat crews, such as mechanics, electricians, operators, and HSE personnel from the branch office who supported the best yearly performing team, are also awarded.
Personnel engagement in the gamification program is yielding some robust results and leveraging the company's operating indicators and team responsibility for internal processes and routines. This encourages personnel ownership, as the workers engage in routines that are key to operating excellence.
In fact, the results indicate that gamification is here to stay and goes far beyond a broader concept of “fun at work”. Encouraging an atmosphere of innovation and engagement creates value for all stakeholders in the logistics, port, and maritime segments.
